


Fawn

by SparkleMoose



Category: Naruto
Genre: Dresses, Gen, He doesn't care, Nonbinary Naras, Nonbinary Shikaku, Nonbinary Shikamaru, The Author Is Nonbinary and May be Projecting A Bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2019-01-06 13:38:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12212337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparkleMoose/pseuds/SparkleMoose
Summary: Shikamaru is not a boy. Chouji is the first to know about this, his parents the second.





	Fawn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DarthLivion (DistantShenanigans)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DistantShenanigans/gifts).



Shikamaru wants a dress, he does not see a problem wanting a dress. Dresses are just clothes that happen to come in a wider range of color and allow for more extreme forms of movement than pants and they are _pretty._

He does not understand why boys can’t wear dresses. Doesn’t understand why he doesn’t feel like a boy. Someone tries to tell him that that dresses are for girls and  _does he want to be a girl?_

No, Shikamaru does not want to be a girl, but he thinks that he doesn’t really want to be a boy either.

* * *

There are times when his teacher at the Academy tells his class to separate into groups based on gender and Shikamaru, who is eight, thinks it’s all kinds of messed up. He knows girls are just as strong as boys, knows that there are people on the girls side and on the boys side who feel just as uncomfortable about being forced into groups based on their supposed gender as he does.

On some level, Shikamaru knows that separating classes like this is easier on the teacher and he wouldn’t have a problem with it if they were told that they could go into groups based on the gender they identified as but they aren’t told that and Shikamaru himself doesn’t really have a gender so he just, freezes a little each time they are split into two groups and goes to the one with his friends in it.

* * *

The first person Shikamaru comes out too is Chouji, because of course it is. Chouji is his best friend and if Chouji doesn’t accept him for who he is then he doesn’t think anyone will.

With a knot in his stomach, he blurts out it out one day while the two of them are cloud watching.

“I’m not a boy,” he tells Chouji, Chouji shoves another chip in his mouth and blinks at him.

“Alright,” Chouji says easily enough, “What pronouns do you want me to use?”

It’s Shikamaru’s turn to blink, he had hoped that it would go over well but for it to go over so casually and the fact Chouji hasn’t pushed him away.

It brings a warm feeling to his stomach.

“The ones you’ve been using are just fine,” Shikamaru says and Chouji beams at him.

* * *

Shikamaru plans to come out to his parents, plans to disappear and live with Chouji should they reject him as some civilians do their children when they come out.

He is prepared.

Until he is not. He tells his father he’s not a boy and his father laughs.

He looks to his mother for guidance, she’s smiling at him fondly.

Shikamaru doesn’t know what to do. He wonders if he should get Chouji.

Finally, his father calms down and grins at him.

“Son,” Shikaku says, humor lining his voice, “Your mother and I knew since you figured it out.”

“What?” Shikamaru says because what.

“You didn’t think you’re the only one in this family with issues with the gender binary did you?” Shikaku asks and Yoshino laughs at Shikamaru’s face. Shikamaru must look like a startled fawn at moment.

“Fawn,” Shikaku says gently, using his old nickname for Shikamaru, “I’m as much as a boy as you are.” Which is to say, not at all.

“Oh,” Shikamaru says, because  _oh,_ his father makes a lot more sense now.

“Should we start using different pronouns for you?” his mother asks, and Shikamaru fucking loves his family.

“No,” Shikamaru says, still in a little bit of shock, “Just keep using the ones you’ve been using.”

“Alright,” Shikaku says, “And, Fawn?”

“Yeah, Dad?”

“We love you.”

* * *

Yoshino finds out Shikamaru wants a dress. She also finds out Shikaku has wanted a dress for decades. She scolds her husband because _if you had wanted to wear a dress on our wedding day you should have just said so_  and drags him and Shikamaru off to go find a dress.

They wind up with two dresses and three skirts each. His father is grinning the entire time. No one tells them what they can and can’t do and while Shikamaru is certain it has to due with the fact that they went to shinobi stores instead of civilian ones it makes his heart sing.

His father winds up with an outrageous deer printed skirt. It’s not cute and quite possibly the ugliest thing he has ever seen.

Shikamaru loves it and buys the same skirt in a different color.

His father laughs at their mother’s despair in their choice of fashion.

**Author's Note:**

> shout out to patrick for being the best and also discussing nonbinary Nara's with me. You go dude, five for you dude.


End file.
